The Hijab and Integration

Nice commentary by Victoria Ferauge on the hijab. Required reading for Premier Maurois and those in Quebec in favour of the Charter. My favourite quote (among many):

Quebec (and other places) are trying to judge what is inside someone’s head by what he or she wears on their bodies.  It’s matching insides to outsides – always a perilous undertaking fraught with error and misunderstandings.  If one thinks it is possible to see a “message” and make judgements about a woman based on what she wears, then it follows that all women everywhere can be judged that way.  So then, what does it mean, mes amis, if a woman wears a short black skirt, a tight blouse and high heels?   What “messages” is she sending?  And are we allowed to treat her differently because of how we interpret her intentions manifested through her fashion sense?

Do we really want to go there?  For that matter, weren’t we there a few decades ago?

The Franco-American Flophouse: The Hijab and Integration.